How hair metal started?

What would you say was the very first hair metal band and that big hair fashion...did it start outside of music? Whats were its origins?

How hair metal started?

Hair metal was not one of my favorite genres. And to generalize and say that all 80's metal is 'Hair Metal' is incorrect, as some people do this quite frequently. 'Hair Metal' is also known as 'Poser Metal'. During the 80's I listened to tons of metal...REAL METAL!

I would consider bands like Poison, Faster Pu**y Cat, Motley Crew, Wasp, Ratt, and Twisted Sister to be Hair(poser) Metal, or Glam Metal. While bands like Slayer, Man o War, Anthrax, Witchfinder General, Iron Maiden, are what many people refer to as REAL METAL (from the 80's anyway).

To say that hair metal was influenced solely by the 70's bands like Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath and AC/DC etc, as one member suggests is not totally accurate. I don't think it's fair to lay the blame on them. I'm sure Vince Neil and the other Hair Metal wankers listened to Led Zeppelin, but so did everyone growing up in the 70's. I'd say a degree of T.Rex, Bowie, Queen, Kiss, New York Dolls, and many other mainstream bands from the 70's played a part too. I think all of these bands, along with the L.A. club scene at that time; cocaine, booze, and MTV, really helped nurture this 80's plague.

It really exploded in L.A. back in the early - mid 80's. The androgynous look, with the make up, hair extensions, spandex etc, spread like wildfire, and the management and booking agencies in L.A. wouldn't touch you with a ten foot pole unless you were all dolled up. I still don't understand how a guy could get laid, when he was much prettier than the chick about to lay him! That baffled the h*ll out of me!

The term 'Hair Metal' was really popularized by MTV.

Anyways, it's a genre I've always despised. I think it really appealed more towards younger people in the 80's that really couldn't think for themselves, so they let MTV do that for them. Then it spread like an STD!

How hair metal started?

I'm going to guess that it came out of the 70's punk/rock surge. I would point the finger at Led Zepplin, or Kiss or Alice Cooper.

How hair metal started?

metal hair developed as bands in the 80's came into the void of being hardcore, or what many people consider metal to be. With these bands they wore big hair, mullets, different styles of clothes, etc... Some early bands formed this look and many bands afterwards developed the look. Most bands in L.A. developed this kind of style, or look that became part of rock history.

How hair metal started?

The hair and style comes from Glam Rock, groups like T-Rex or Mott the Hoople. Big Hair is just an attempt to be different from both the short haired straights and the aging hippies.

How hair metal started?

The Glam Rock of the 70's like The New York Dolls, as much as I loved 'em was largely responsible for the crappy Hair Metal bands of the 80's.

How hair metal started?

it started off as metal from bands like Black Sabbath, ACDC, and Led Zepplin (all of which stemmed from classical and blues/jazz) then it became popular...too popular...and it poisoned many bands making them sell out ruining the music...thankfully metal is no longer popular so those of us who do get the surge from metal don't have to deal with power ballads anymore!